MONTREAL — Scottie Scheffler confirmed his trash-talking aspect that’s legendary in Dallas circles and illustrates the ultracompetitive nature of golf’s No. 1 participant.
Tom Kim anticipated no much less.
The Presidents Cup turned spicy Thursday when the 22-year-old Kim took his celebrations to a different stage after he buried a birdie putt from simply inside 30 toes on the par-3 seventh gap. He did a pirouette and shouted, “Let’s go!”
Scheffler responded by matching his birdie with a putt from about the identical size, turning towards Kim and shouting with equal ardour, “What was that?”
And it was feisty over the following two holes, particularly when Kim made one other birdie and walked over to the ninth tee field — some 50 yards away — whilst Scheffler nonetheless had a 15-foot putt to tie the outlet (he missed).
“Seemed like he poked the bear, from my perspective,” mentioned Scheffler, who gained the Olympic gold medal whereas paired with Kim and beat Kim in a playoff on the Vacationers Championship.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, however Kim and Sungjae Im did not win one other gap the remainder of the way in which as Scheffler and Russell Henley closed out a 3-and-2 victory on a day the Individuals swept the four-balls session for a 5-0 lead.
“Simply he was being himself. That is how we play again at house, and I knew it was going to occur,” Kim mentioned. “It is all enjoyable. I made it on prime of him, and he gave it to me, and I gave it to him again on the following gap. I do not draw back from him. He is a very good good friend. However on the similar time, this week I do not like him. I wish to beat him so dangerous, and I am certain he feels the identical method.”
They’re mates. That a lot was evident when Scheffler wrapped his arms round an emotional Kim on the ultimate gap of the Olympics to console him.
Scheffler was competing — and successful — towards a 60-man discipline. Match play is private, and this seemed each little bit of it in a match that gave an in any other case flat day at Royal Montreal a bit of little bit of taste.
“We had been 2 up within the match and he made a putt on 7, had a giant response, and I made a giant putt, as properly,” Scheffler mentioned. “So it was vital for me to guarantee that we stored the momentum within the match. After which I suppose he made a giant putt on 8 and so they walked off the inexperienced to the tee or one thing like that.”
Scheffler mentioned he noticed video of Kim “yelling at me” however he did not discover that.
“I simply sort of performed,” Scheffler mentioned.
Kim made his Presidents Cup debut in 2022 as a 20-year-old and turned out to be the emotional spark for the Internationals, most notably when he slammed his hat to the bottom after making a successful putt in fourballs match towards Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
As for leaving the eighth inexperienced whereas his opponents nonetheless had a putt, Kim brushed that off.
“I made a putt, and whether or not he made it or not wasn’t going to make a distinction,” Kim mentioned. “There was no motive to remain there and take a look at him putt. It does not assist us in any respect. It wasn’t attempting to be low-cost or do something like that. We had been centered on our personal sport.”
Scheffler shrugged it off, similar to he does with every part else.
“It is enjoyable to compete and enjoyable to symbolize our nation, and on the finish of the match you’re taking your hat off and shake fingers,” he mentioned. “We’re mates after, we’re not mates throughout, I suppose.”
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